Whats the deal with this ? Why isnt most companies switching to this ... Isnt it safer to Drive ?

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Catholic Conservative Truck Driver

Newbie with Schnider!

I don't know about it being safer or not. I have driven both, and I see good things for both setups.
When I first go into trucking in 96 there was talk about it. I didn't want a automatic.
Now that I am older, I am lazy so I like the auotmatic's.

I would say it depends on what you are doing with the truck. If you are pulling heavy loads off road then I bet a auotmatic wouldn't last as long as a standard.

As for a company that hires a bunch of "green driver's" it may be a good deal as alot of the "new dreen driver's" can't or don't know how to shift a standard.
Might save them some money in breakdowns.

Can we make this stretch with the advent of automatics?:

"A trucking company that uses automatics is a company that must rely on mostly green drivers. This means their turnover is atrocious and should be avoided. Don't drive for a trucking company that uses automatic transmissions."

Sounds good to me. Bring on the automatics!

i drove for a company that has "automated transmissions", meaning that there is still a clutch pedal, as you need this to go into first and reverse, so, it wasn't a true "fully automatic" transmission.

that being said, i prefer shifting gears. in my pick-up truck, there is an automatic, and that's where i think automatics belong, in our 4 wheelers. to me, the automatic(sic) i was driving would take forever to downshift so that i could climb a hill. in fact, i'd be just about to crest the top of any hill, and it would then drop a gear, as it would have lugged all the way up,losong road speed. then it would up shift real quick on the straight level roads, it would go through nearly all the gears what seemed super fast, again, lugging the rig in the final gear.

nah..........as old as i am now, driving a big rig should be done the old fashion way, by shifting gears, let the newbies who can't drive, back up, make turns, do a log boog, do a pre-trip, can't find their way out of a wet paper bag, drive a "girlie man's" truck with an automatic.........

US Xpress has Autos. I have never driven one and I heard once you drive an auto, you won't want a shift again. I have also heard that if you worked for US Xpress, that a lot of smaller companies will quickly show you the door, as they don't want their standard tranny torn up.

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"I’m not speeding…I’m qualifying!!!"

I also wonder if the truck gets better fuel mileage?

Also as Pro said, They still have a clutch pedal to “start and stop" as I was reading info on Truck automatics, as it is not a fully automatic, but it is called an automated transmission.

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"I’m not speeding…I’m qualifying!!!"

They also have fully automatic truck's with no clutch, because I have driven them. Just like driving a "big car".

As for fuel milage, I can't say as I drove one for about 1100 miles pulling 2 more (piggy back) and the speed was set at 62 mph and it was brand new, and the weight of 3 trucks were really heavy (close to 80,000 lbs) I believe the fuel milage was around 4. something.

I know when I left where I picked it up I put around 280 gallons of fuel in it, and when I got to about 850 I had to refuel that is about 3.4 mpg all in all it was close to 4 mpg.

Slushpump transmissions are for people with one leg. All vehicles should have manual transmissions. I drive a slushpump F-650 at work & loathe it.

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Jarlaxle Baenre
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RIP E. Gary Gygax 1938-2008

Okay, I currently have well over 300,000 miles on autoshift transmissions, Eaton Fuller 10 speeds, having driven then for the last 3 years except for times when I borrowed a spare and it was a stick. So I can speak with some authority on this subject, though I don't claim to be the total expert.

As for mileage, the truck gets the same as it would with a stick, possibly a hair better. I can outdrive the trans on a really good day and get better fuel mileage by shifting progressively, but day in and day out, it will always beat me. I have bad days, over rev or underrev, and the autoshift never does that, day in and day out. I am consistently close to 6 mpg, and that's pulling trailer that get very bad fuel mileage. With a van, I go over 7 mpg with ease, autoshift or stick.

As for when they shift, they downshift and upshift at the same point that I would. I can't say how many times I have reached out to the shifter to bump the button up or down a notch, and it shifts right as my hand reaches it. It doesn't lose road speed going up hill unless you didn't have the rpm and road speed there when you started. Running from Chiocago to the east coast, the most it has ever downshifted whiule pulling 50,000 in a trailer is down to 8th gear, and that's in maybe 2 spots in Pa. You can increase the rpmk at which it downshifts by putting the trans into the manual position and shifting it via the up and down buttons, and this allows you a wider range of rpm for shifting.

As for relying on only new, green, drivers I refer you to my post in "good trucking companies" for our requirements.


As for myself, I am still slightly on the fence about buying one myself when the time comes. I am sold on the concept, and the ease of driving one. It makes me a better driver because I can focus on my steering and keep both hands where they belong, on the wheel. My only concern is that in buying a used truck with one, I am facing the possibility of having some expensive components in the trans that I can't repair myself. If I break a shifter fork in a manual, I can repair it. If the powerhead that does the shifting goes out, I have to go to a dealer. As much as I like the autoshift, my financial conservatism comes into play, and may prevent me from buying one. I am right on he fence now, and 2 more years could tip me to an autoshift. Right now, I wouldn''t turn one down if everything else on the truck met my specs. My 02.

Big 10-4 on that. Automated is o.k./not o.k. in many ways for an experienced hand, but if you've never driven an 18wheeler? Co's roll automated trans only, and hire new drivers.... Seems like they're trying to keep em less employable, hence "Where else ya gonna go?" I've heard that California will actually put a restriction on yer CDL if you've only driven auto.